


Sonic the Hedgehog: Divide and Conquer

by GradeAMasterpiece



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Character Development, Gen, Teamwork
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-21
Updated: 2014-12-15
Packaged: 2018-02-05 15:15:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1823044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GradeAMasterpiece/pseuds/GradeAMasterpiece
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Meeting new people always brings about new adventures, Sonic always thought. This time is no exception. New foes and new friends are encountered, and they bring along with them a new problem that will require collaboration. Let the games begin. Contains mild language and OC.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog is copyrighted to Yuji Naka, Sonic Team, and Sega. The only thing(s) I claim ownership to are my OC/fancharacters to appear in this story.

**Chapter 1: Newcomers**  
  
Between two towering grey mountains, the blades of grass danced in the breeze. This spring green valley was peaceful, resplendent, and filled with wildlife. The budding shrubs located here and there provided shelter for birds in their nests, bees in their colonies, and moles in their holes. The cloudless sky allowed the sun to cast a veil of luminosity onto the valley, and the mountains provided a slight silver sheen to accentuate the environment's beauty even more. Undoubtedly, the current appearance of the valley would be ideal for resting.  
  
And a certain cobalt-blue hedgehog thought exactly that. Sonic the Hedgehog was laying on his back in the grass, soaking in the sun with a content smile on his muzzle.  _“Life doesn’t get any better than this,”_  Sonic thought, his arms behind his head to act as makeshift pillows,  _"Feels great to relax from off-the-wall adventures like an intergalactic amusement park and a being of darkness trying to take over everything."_    
  
Just then, Sonic felt the sun being blocked, signaled by the sudden disappearance of the heat. “Huh?” Sonic opened his right eye halfway to see a giant, floating object hovering in the sky. It generally featured an arrow-shaped design with two sets of draconic wings stretching out from each side. The underside, which was the only thing visible from Sonic’s position, was pitch-black.  
  
“Tch. Must be Eggman again,” Sonic groaned in disdain before jumping to his feet. Yet another battleship in need of trouncing courtesy of himself. “Man, oh, man. You would think that after all this time he would retire or something. Then again, Eggman wouldn’t be Eggman without his persistence. Oh well. I’ll kick his round butt quickly so I can go back to catching some Z’s.”   
  
Sonic then dashed toward the southward mountain, where the ship was nearest, and the wind that he brewed brought many blades of grass with him. He quickly accelerated, his legs moving with such velocity that they began to visibly blur into something resembling a rotating blade, his red shoes forming a bright circle. As he started running up the face of the mountain, his swiftness became so great that he surpassed such speeds as the mortal eye could conceive.   
  
To the casual bystander, only a rocketing azure blur could be seen, zipping up the mountain like a comet, a trail of dust and grass floating in his extensive wake. As he darted into the jagged bare region near the mountain’s peak he began to swerve and dodge amongst jagged rocks and ledges, a delicate and precise game of maneuvering which he had mastered long ago. His blue trail zigged and zagged up the mountain’s face, every obstacle circumvented, every sharp danger skirted, all while maintaining a speed to make other mortals stagger in wonder.  
  
As he came closer to the peak of the mountain, Sonic realized he would need an extra boost to make sure he could actually board the giant battleship. He spotted a great place near the peak perfect for what he needed to do. He stopped himself suddenly by rooting his feet into the ground as he made his body stiffen to prevent the intense momentum from causing him to slide, his body twanging as a consequence for a brief two seconds.   
  
He then planted his foot onto one of the slightly larger rocks before him. He curled up into a ball. Sonic, in his ball form, maintained this stationary position and began charging up speed, gradually gaining more and more. Only eight seconds passed before Sonic finally performed his Spin Dash and blasted off. With increased force and resistance to friction, Sonic was able to roll right through the jagged stones. Dust and gravel permeated the air. And, finally, he had enough speed to jettison off the peak of the mountain, launch himself in the direction of the battleship, and land on the deck.  
  
“OK, this is starting to seem un-Eggman-like,” Sonic commented, warily gazing at the construction of the battleship.   
  
The deck and everything beyond did have a semblance of the Egg Carrier or perhaps any of Sonic’s old nemesis’ contraptions, but the atmosphere and color was of something more sinister. The deck sentinels were silver, resembling the large turrets the government used to safeguard high-maintenance areas , and the way they were arranged made it seem like a miniature version of an area of city buildings. Shadows lined the areas between these sentinels, and their stationary cannons gleamed in the sunlight. Apparently, Sonic was on the one-way street that cut through them, and, to an unaccustomed person, one false move would make these cannons point at said person and unleash tons of hot plasma blasts.  
  
In the distance was the bridge, where a tower stood out from the rest. Four sections of the tower possessed the battlements of a castle. A symbol could be seen at the very apex of the bridge: a greatsword and a nodachi crossed to form an X.  
  
“Definitely un-Eggman-like.” Sonic placed his knuckles on his hips, “Baldy McNosehair must be stepping up his game.”  
  


* * *

  
The inside of the vast ship's bridge was cold, dark, and still. Dim light shimmered lightly on mechanical-looking corridors, the lack of windows adding an unnatural feel to the bridge as if the owner wanted to exclude the world. The main control room was small octagon with a giant supercomputer situated in the very middle.  The cold light of its four screen reflected off the metal floors, tables, and a glass of wine near a large cushion chair.   
  
“Five minutes until arrival at destination,” the mother-computer announced with a deep, droning baritone. Then, the image of a stony, Greco-Roman temple appeared on the computer screen. From what the faraway depiction of the screen gave, the structure was ancient indeed – the color was splotched in a variety of places, the stone manufacturing was glaring in comparison to the modern mechanical structures seen today, and there was a heavy emphasis on columns and pillars.   
  
Tipped off by the mother-computer, a gentleman sitting in the chair closed his encyclopedia, set it down near his unfinished wine glass, and approached the console, entering the light emitted by its monitors.  
  
His eyes scanned the contents, the reflection of which showing in his deep red sclera. He spent time thoroughly examining the temple, using his own intelligence to see if this were truly his target. He tapped the keyboard several times, getting several different angles and projections of the Greco-Roman temple. He unconsciously ran a hand through his layered but short, dark slate grey hair, still focused on what was displayed and looking for anything that might compromise the temple's authenticity.   
  
He did not. This was indeed their destination. A subdued twinkle shone his white eyes, one that readiness and sinister intent, one that expressed his desire to finally initiate his plan and become one step closer to his ultimate goal.  _"It is time for this world to realize its own flaws… and for us to fix them."_  He thought as he reached to the side, snatched his long coat off the nearby rack, and slipped it on. Its crimson color practically glowed in the computer's light, matching the man's distinct sclera. He turned back around with purposeful footfalls, his dark brown combat boots creating hollow echoes as his black pants blended into the shadows of the room.  
  
When he reached for someone beside his chair, he heard the automatic doors open up. “We've arrived, Negative. Prepare yourself.” The gentlemen announced, not facing his entering partner.    
  
The shorter but muscular man released a brief grunt as he trudged over to the computer screen to confirm the statement for himself, his black boots stomping along the floor. His purple eyes, outlined by a broad black rim, studied the temple. He took considerably took less time than his thorough friend; the instant he realized this was the Greco-Roman temple they were looking for, a manic grin slowly stretched across his pale face.   
  
“It’s about time, Ryu.” Negative remarked with a light chuckle as he extended his arm and retrieved his ragged black blazer from the same coat rack Ryu got his long coat from. He practically threw it over his body. As he did, his large, bat-like wings stretched out from the back so suddenly and with so much that a brisk wind was generated, causing his own dark gray hair to dance wildly in the breeze. "I cannot wait to finally begin this so-called 'game.' Myself and my Nega Machines have craved for the fields of battle since we began." Negative stated, turning away as he brushed off the dust that decided to settle on his gray pants due to his wing-beat.   
  
Just then, the screen turned red as the word ‘warning’ in white flashed on it repeatedly. “Threat detected! Threat detected! Threat detected!”   
  
Negative instantly whipped back around, his teeth gnashing against one another as he bellowed out, " _What_ threat?”   
  
The screen shifted again, displaying what the surveillance cameras on the deck saw. A blue blur sliced through the turrets and sentinels ceaselessly firing at it. They were instantly destroyed in a series of violent explosions that filled up the monitor.  
  
“That speed…” Negative mumbled, narrowing his eyes at the sight. He didn't quite catch the color of the blur, but he had seen something similar before. The thought made his blood boil as he clenched his fists, wanting nothing more than to break his first guess in half with them, “Could it be  _him_?”   
  
“Even if it is not," Ryu spoke, crossing his arms as he looked at the screen from over his shoulder. His calm tone and unreadable face never wavered as he watched the intruder continue its tirade, "Anyone that acts like him is subject to destruction in my book.”  
  


* * *

  
  
Outside, unaware that he was being watched, Sonic let out a thrilled holler. “YAHOO!” He outran the plethora of laser cannons aimed at him, their flurries of laser fire continually missed their mark and trailing right behind him. Sonic deprived excitement from knowing that these supposedly destructive machines could not even hit a little hedgehog like himself. “Whoever here’s in charge is just as fun to mess with as Eggman!” The blue hedgehog ran in front of a section of turrets and jumped up so that laser cannon shots would destroy them inadvertently. “WHOO!” He hollered once again as the explosion sent him high into the air. Of course that only magnified his ecstasy.   
  
“Wasn’t that a blast?” Sonic said mockingly to no one in particular as he landed on the ground and skidded to a stop.   
  
Just then, a slot opened on the deck and was followed by a series of heavy, mechanical thuds. Sonic whirled to the direction of the sounds as the metallic stomping became louder and louder. Throughout his many battles, the blue hedgehog could recognize the sound of a machine that was deadlier than lower class ones. And, right now, whatever this construction was, it would either be more fun to play with than the sentinels or be more destructive and serious.  
  
Several black appendages spewed out from the opening, a hollow clang being the resultant sound, as the creature leapt completely out of the slot. When it landed, Sonic was able to see a mechanical spider. It was fairly large, but not like the sentinels Sonic just trumped. Its legs were like blades, and in place of the usual eight eyes there was the symbol seen on the tower. Oddly enough, Sonic noted, despite the arachnid being a machine, it had an organic appearance. Another thing that bothered him was that odd, purple energy surged through its legs. It was not like most energy he encountered throughout his many journeys.  
  
Nonetheless, a fight was a fight, and he was going to oblige. “Oh look, a bug that needs squashing!” Sonic smirked as he got in a battle stance, putting up his fists in the style of a boxer.  
  
“Greetings, blue hedgehog,” a voice greeted eerily from atop of the robotic entity. Then, Ryu jumped off the spider with eyes leering malignantly at Sonic.   
  
“Well, hi there!” he replied casually, “You seem new to town. Name’s Sonic the Hedgehog!”  
  
“I am Ryu Amakuni…and I’m afraid you’re making quite the mess of my Imperial Skyline battleship.”  
  
“That’s because it looked evil. I’m a hero, and I stop evil,” Sonic said while stretching, “They go hand-in-hand. Get what I’m saying?”   
  
Suddenly, Negative appear behind Sonic, wielding a massive silver and black greatsword. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were mocking us.” He swung at the hedgehog, an electric purple trail marking the arc of his swing. To his surprise, the large blade fazed through the hedgehog who disappeared in a blue gust.   
  
“What the-?! An afterimage?!” Negative exclaimed.  
  
“Nice try on the sneak attack,” Sonic commented, standing on top of a pile of metallic rubble, “though next time, don’t speak; that gives me a clue you’re coming for me. Trust me, I’m fast enough to dodge as you can tell.”  
  
Negative glared at the hedgehog as he stabbed his massive sword into the surface he stood upon, making dents and cracks as the tip pierced through the metallic material. It was then Sonic got a good look at Negative’s weapon of choice. Its size was interesting to behold—it was just as big as Negative himself with considerable width to it as well. On the front side, extending from its decorative hilt guard, was a long, clear capsule that resembled a meter.  _“Dang. If I had actually gotten hit by that thing, I’d have a heck of a hospital bill.”_  
  
“So be it,” Ryu snarled in a low, menacing tone. He was carrying a unique, golden sheathe whose end possessed thick dark red wrapping, and he unsheathed a nodaichi with a dark gold hilt – the tsuba curled to resemble an Egyptian eye – and a fine black blade.   
  
“Nega Arachne, have at that hedgehog!” Negative commanded. The Nega Arachne hissed before crawling towards Sonic, who jumped out of the way of the mechanical menace’s slashes. Ryu and Negative rushed for Sonic after he landed and swung their swords simultaneously. “Whoa!” Sonic jumped over the swings, and the swords clashed, “You two sure know how to triple team a guy.”  
  
Ryu and Negative shifted themselves so that they could both kick Sonic away while he was still in the air. “GUH!” Sonic groaned as he went flying before landing on the ground. Then, the Nega Arachne jumped up and tried to slam itself on the blue hedgehog. “Whoa!” Sonic exclaimed as he dashed away to avoid being crushed to death.  
  
After landing, a number of gun barrels appeared on the Nega Arachne’s two front legs and unleashed rivulets of that same purple energy at Sonic, who again dodged. Sonic jumped, curled into a ball again, and performed a Spin Dash once more. He rammed himself into the “face” of the Nega Arachne, its frozen and awkward position symbolizing its stunned state. He landed on the ground, only to jump up and perform Spin Dash again to try and deal a heavy blow while it was stunned; however, Negative put himself in the way.  
  
“Don’t think so, hedgehog,” Negative said. Light purple, glowing liquid appeared inside the meter on his sword and stopped on the first line vaguely visible on it like the mercury inside a thermometer. His greatsword flashed purple as small crackles of electricity appeared on it. Unleashing a guttural roar, Negative swung the flat side of his weapon towards Sonic.  
  
Upon impact, Sonic was immediately knocked out of his Spin Dash state “AH!” He exclaimed in pain as he was sent flying into some of the mechanical rubble on the battlefield. Negative laughed vindictively, “You underestimate my powers, hedgehog. This isn’t your average sword you are dealing with!”  
  
Sonic glared at Negative as he got himself out of the rubble, “Thanks for the update, Captain Obvious,” he replied sarcastically. He loathed the fact that, while in his Spin Dash state, he was left vulnerable.  
  
“Why you miserable little ant!” the bat-winged swordsman snarled as he stretched his black wings and flew for the hedgehog. Apparently, Negative did not learn from his failed sneak attack, for when he swung, he swung at another blue afterimage.  
  
“One - I’m not that slow, buddy. Two - I’m a hedgehog, not an ant.” After that declaration, Sonic kicked Negative in the back of the head and sent him flying into a sentinel, giving him a taste of his own medicine.  
  
Ryu, meanwhile, had been spectating Negative and Sonic’s tussle from a distance in order to try to gauge Sonic’s capabilities. For a being who was simply centered on speed, he was quite strong.  
  
He stabbed his nodaichi into the mechanical surface and covered his body with his cape. Muttering something underneath his breath, he reopened his cape and unleashed a ray of cloudy, inky darkness from the air before him towards Sonic. The blue hedgehog saw it coming and quickly sidestepped to the left to avoid the dark magic attack. Inadvertently, Dark Hall struck the sentinel that Negative was previously knocked into, and he screamed in pain during the resultant explosion.  
  
“Ouch, that hurt,” Sonic said mockingly, placing his knuckles on his hips. He turned to Ryu and jested, “Nice aim you got there, buddy.” Ryu sneered; that was just an unfortunate case of misfire.   
  
He swung his nodaichi again. The longer-than-usual blade suddenly released a quick air wave that caused a minor explosion where Sonic was. “OUCH!” Sonic yelled as he skidded across the mechanical surface. He gritted his teeth and forced himself on his feet, “Playing dirty now, huh? Fine then!” Sonic then heard the sounds of discharges and quickly Spin Dashed away to avoid more laser shots from the Nega Arachne.  
  
“Ugh. Wish I had a can of bug spray,” Sonic groaned in disdain after reverting to his normal form. Ryu was now attacking from the air, diving for the hedgehog with his sword ready. Naturally, because Sonic was faster, he evaded the strike as Ryu’s swing, amazingly, reduced a malfunctioning sentinel into segments.   
  
 _“Whoa! This guy means a lot more business than his buddy.”_  Sonic thought, noting the difference in strength between Ryu and Negative. Twinkles of black light appeared around Ryu. When he swung his sword, these twinkles were fired at Sonic who promptly evaded all of them. Each impact created a violent explosion of smoke and thermal energy.   
  
“Is dodging all you can do, hedgehog?” Ryu asked. His voice was so calm that it was hard to distinguish if he was taunting or asking an honest question.  
  
Sonic smirked as he tapped the surface with the toe of his shoe in trademark style, “Not at all, Ryu! I’m about to show you; just don’t blink—”  
  
“RAH!” Sonic was suddenly slammed to the ground by an extremely powerful force, a force strong enough that it knocked the wind out of him. “Well, hedgehog, I took your advice,” Negative said condescendingly. Obviously, he survived the explosion, but the damages done to his body were just as obvious. His body and clothing were charred in a good number of places, and he was suffering a couple of bleeding wounds.   
  
“It is like you said, Sonic the Hedgehog,” Ryu stated, gesturing to the Nega Arachne, “We certainly know how to triple team someone.” The Nega Archane summoned its weapons again and charged up energy in them.   
  
Sonic released a violent cough as he regained normal breathing, “No thank you for the compliment?” he retorted.  
  
“Here is your thanks,” Ryu responded with an evil smirk, “A one-way ticket to oblivion…”  
  
“Man, ya’ll havin’ a party and didn’t invite  _me_?!”  
  
Out of nowhere, a black blur flashed across the area, and the Nega Arachne seemed to spontaneously explode. This definitely caught Ryu and Negative off-guard, allowing Sonic to brutally and quickly knock away the latter.  
  
Negative skidded across the surface from the impact, “What’s this-YOU!” Ryu looked up and growled angrily at the sight of his arch-nemesis… and Sonic’s savior.   
  
“You know it!” the alacritous man said as he smirked. Just like Negative and Ryu, he was human. He had brown hair, onyx eyes, a black shirt with white ribbings, white gloves, and black baggy pants with a black belt, and white shoes with silver buckles.   
  
“Shelton Shallow…” Negative said in a low, sarcastic voice, “How conveniently timed your arrival is.”   
  
Shelton straightened himself with a proud grin, “’Ey, you two should know how I roll.” He looked over his shoulder at Sonic and added, “Yo, you did pretty good against these two! Looked like you were havin’ a ball!”  
  
Sonic smirked before jumping back to his feet, “You could say that. I’m Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog.”   
  
Shelton gestured his head toward Negative and said, “Tall, dark, and ugly over there already said my name: Shelton Shallow.”  
  
Ryu turned to Negative and told him, “Conveniently timed is what we wanted, Negative. Let’s go; we’re falling back for now…”  
  
Negative narrowed his eyes defiantly and snarled in response, “Fall back after what they just did? No way in Hell, Ryu! Let’s at least send them packing with a couple of broken bones before we ship off!”  
  
Ryu silenced his partner by suddenly positioning the tip of his nodaichi at the middle of his larynx. “Did you not hear what I just said? This is what we wanted,” he stated menacingly. A wide-eyed Negative nodded slightly so that the sword could not pierce his throat.  
  
Sonic could only look at them in disbelief, “Uhh…Aren’t they supposed to be buddies?”   
  
Shelton was equally confused, “They are…This is the first time I’ve seen this.” It was also apparent they did not hear Negative and Ryu’s short conversation.   
  
Ryu removed his sword as he pressed something on the collar of his shirt. Instantly, a warp-hole materialized in front of the Imperial Skyline.   
  
“Uhp! Time to bounce, Sonic!” Shelton announced.  
  
“Right behind you!” Sonic replied.   
  
The two dashed off  at the same time side-by-side with trails of obsidian and azure in their wake. As the two heroes jumped off the battleship in the nick of time, they could hear Ryu’s vengeful threat, “Mark my words, Sonic the Hedgehog…crossing me is the equivalent of a death wish!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog is copyrighted to Yuji Naka, Sonic Team, and Sega. The only thing(s) I claim ownership to are my OC/fancharacters to appear in this story.

**Chapter 2: Impendence**  
  
Sonic and Shelton skidded across the lush ground until they made a complete stop. “Well! That was fun while it lasted,” Sonic commented, clapping his hands of any dirt.  
  
“Always loved kickin’ their butts. They hate it when I one-up them. Amusing reactions abound.” Shelton said, brushing grass and dirt off of his pants.  
  
Sonic snickered, “I can see.” He then crossed his arms as he stared hard at Shelton. The man obviously knew much more about Ryu and Negative, and Sonic himself wanted to be well-informed. “That aside, what was up with them?”  
  
Shelton shoved his hands into his pockets, “Well…it’s kinda complicated. Think ya got time?”   
  
Sonic gave him a thumbs up, “Always do.”   
  
Shelton smirked, “Then follow me.” The brown-haired hero got into a track-runner stance and then zipped off as a black blur. Unperturbed, Sonic followed him while leaving behind an azure trail. The two speedsters raced across the valley, sharp winds following in their wake. Their surroundings passed by them at full-speed, and they relished the wind in their faces. Running at high speeds were like rollercoaster rides for Shelton and Sonic: fast, exhilarating, and — best of all — they could always do it again.   
  
“You see, from what I heard, Ryu and Negative are lookin’ for these temples,” Shelton explained over the wind once they both were settled into their running.  
  
Sonic’s brow creased, thinking about what a villain would want a temple for. “Are they trying to unleash some deadly monster into the world? Or reawakening some ancient power to harness for their own? Oooor a variation thereof?”  
  
“You sound like ya got experience,” Shelton said.   
  
“Eh. A bit,” Sonic said nonchalantly.   
  
Shelton shook his head, “Can’t really say much else ’cuz I don’t have an answer. All I know is we need to get to ‘em  before they do.”  
  
On cue, something on the horizon appeared. “What’s that?” Sonic asked, squinting his eyes to try and get a better visual.   
  
“One of ‘em,” Shelton answered.  
  
"It is?” Sonic looked back at the other male with a raised eyebrow, “How'd you know there was one here?"  
  
"Why’d you think my entrance was so convenient? I was chasin' 'em down cuz I knew there were headin' to another temple." Shelton faced forward and said, "I'll explain later. Right now, we got business to take care of."  
  
True to Shelton's word, it was the stony, Greco-Roman temple that Ryu and Negative had their sights on. Like typical Greco-Roman temples, pillars were a structural emphasis. Grey-white columns circumnavigated the cylindrical building and kept up the roof that was shaped like a triangular prism. Only the front side where the entrance was lacked any pillars. The cementation that created the walls behind the columns was slightly darker in hue. The entrance was a rusted brown, iron door. Ivies clung to its sides, and ancient depictions of Greco-Roman gods were melded onto the door itself.    
  
Sonic whistled at the sight of the marvel. “Check it out.”  
  
“I know, right?” Shelton agreed, “Those ancient people got it goin’ on.”  
  
The two speedsters stopped when they reached the large entrance of the temple. The white, dirtied stairs were positioned invitingly in front of Sonic and Shelton, beckoning the two to enter. They ascended the steps and approached the door. Automatically, the giant stone doors creaked open, and flurries of dust were unleashed into the world and into the faces of the two heroes. Shelton and Sonic coughed as they waved away the dust from their faces.   
  
“Man! Dusty old thing!” Sonic said in-between coughs.   
  
“No kiddin!’” Shelton agreed.  
  
The two entered the ancient building. The coloration of the inside matched the outside: earthen and caked with dust. “How big is this place?” Sonic questioned, sauntering forward.   
  
“Dunno. But based on what I saw in the other temple ‘fore I sealed it away, ya got quite a bit of runnin’ to do.” Shelton matched his strides.   
  
“Sealed it away?” Sonic repeated, casting a curious look over to him, “How the heck can you seal a big thing like  _this_?”  
  
“Oh, that’s right,” Shelton said, apparently remembering a vital piece of information. “To be honest, I’m still searchin’ the answer for myself. There are a lot of things about these temples Ryu and Negative know more than me. But there  _is_  one thing I know… I ain’t lettin’ these guys seal these things ‘fore me!”  
  
Sonic chuckled good-naturedly. “Sing it, brother. I guess you can’t answer how or why does that goes with Ryu’s plan?”   
  
Shelton shook his head, “Naw. But, it’s gotta be important. I guess they thought you were in the way."  
  
“Yeah, I can see that.” A few seconds and something came across Sonic’s mind, something that made him point accusingly at Shelton. “Wait a minute! Does that mean you were  _watching_  them kick my blue booty?”   
  
Shelton rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, “For like a minute. Had to make an entrance, y’know?”  
  
“Jeez, you've got a big ego.”  
  
For a while, silence — other than their echoing footsteps — befell the hedgehog and the human. The trail seemed to repeat endlessly, the same structures and features reappearing cyclically as they covered more ground. As such, when Sonic noticed the slightest structural change, he asked, “Hey, Shel? I wanna know if these temples are like something you would see in movies or on television.”   
  
Shelton couldn’t help but chuckle at Sonic’s little quip, but nonetheless answered, “Depends. What kind of movies?”  
  
“Like the kind of movies that, if you touch something, booby traps will activate,” Sonic answered.   
  
Shelton scratched his head, thinking about what how things progressed in the temple he visited prior. He then gave a simple shrug, “You don’t have to touch anything to make ‘em happen.”  
  
Suddenly, from the shadows, arrows were flung at the duo.   
  
“They just happen!” Shelton twisted his body slightly. He then rotated rapidly in place, gradually gaining speed. After a certain point, physics took over as Shelton generated a miniature swirl of wind that sucked in the arrows and blew them away.   
  
Sonic smirked as he, too, sprang into action, “Good to know!”  Rows of sharp pendulums that were suddenly launched from the hidden alcoves in the walls. Thanks to his great acrobatic skills, he was able to avoid them swiftly and effectively. “That makes me wonder,” he spoke after getting through the first batch of traps, “is there a sort of temple guardian to match all this?”  
  
“Who knows? The sky’s the limit,” Shelton answered. Instead of jumping over the blades, Shelton slid and barrel-rolled underneath them. When the pendulums were no longer an impediment, the temple decided to assault them with wrecking balls. Sonic turned to the side and ran up the wall to avoid them with Shelton following suit.  
  
“How did you plan on conquering these things?” Sonic asked from his position on the wall.   
  
A new set of pendulums followed after the previous set. Shelton gazed at the rows of the sharp, bladed weapons pensively. They were moving relatively fast, and their numbers covered a good amount of ground. But then his dark brown eyes locked onto the chains that held the blades. A smirked plastered on his face, “Follow my lead.”  
  
Shelton flipped so that he was in a handstand whilst straightening his body. He started to rotate himself, progressively gaining speed, until he reached the point where his whole body was like that of a drill. A few more seconds of charging, and a blazing red aura coated Shelton as a result of producing thermal energy. Shelton then projected himself, going at speeds like that of bullet. He drilled through the chains of some of the wrecking balls with ease, the slicing sounds echoing through the hall while sparks flared like fireworks.   
  
Shelton had made sure he had enough force in his technique to reach the opposite wall. He planted himself on the wall whilst exiting his drill state and smiled at his work.  
  
“Whoa! That’s quite a technique!” Sonic commented.   
  
“Drill Spear ain’t never failed me yet. Jealous?” Shelton added a smirk to the final part of his line.  
  
Sonic matched his smirk as he jumped off the side of the wall. “Not at all! Watch this!” Sonic then curled into a ball and spun at high speeds before projecting himself to the remaining chains. The force from his attack made the chains break, and the wrecking balls themselves fell down.  
  
Sonic landed and cockily proclaimed, “The Homing Attack has yet to fail me.”  
  
Shelton briskly waved his hand at him while sniggering, “Showoff.” The two then dashed off before the temple could react with a new wave of traps.  
  
Eventually, the two made it to the very core of the temple, a circular room enclosed by a stony dome. In the very middle of the room, a bright green mass of energy was encapsulated by a statue-like object with lines of ancient manuscripts etched on them. Similar writings were present on the walls around them. The dark green and grey floor possessed a system of rings that made it look like an intricate dial.  
  
“Looks like we made it,” Sonic said, looking around the temple core room.   
  
“Alright. Let’s seal this thing and bounce,” Shelton advised.   
  
However, the temple had one last obstacle for the two. The writings on the wall glowed, causing Shelton and Sonic to stop and put up their guards. Green lightning struck and convened in front of the core until something began to form.   
  
Sonic narrowed his eyes, expecting something to attack them. “One last order of business to take care of, it seems.”   
  
“Looks like it.” Shelton assumed his battle stance. An entity materialized from the energy: a golem-like monster colored green, white, and black. Shelton took note of the weapon it wielded, a bludgeon on one end and a blade on the other. “A big guy with a big weapon.”   
  
A cocky grin appeared on Sonic’s face. “The bigger they are, the harder they fall!” The hedgehog took off for the Temple Guardian. Seeing it swing its blade, Sonic dodged by sliding underneath it. Once behind the monster, he jumped up and struck the Temple Guardian as it turned around.  
  
The monster only staggered backwards, the Homing Attack only a mere inconvenience, something Shelton took note of. “He ain’t fall, Sonic.”   
  
Once back on the ground, Sonic saw the stern gaze of the Temple Guardian as it stomped toward him. Backpedaling to keep his distance, the hedgehog decided to issue a challenge. “Think you can do better?”  
  
Shelton wasn’t one to keep someone waiting, and he wanted to move things along already. “Don’t blink.” The young man started spinning vertically in place. His rotations increased in pace to the point he resembled a black top, the white portions of his outfit creating white streaks. Shelton, in his whirling form, shot straight toward the nearest all, bounced off it at an angle, and aimed himself at the creature  
  
The Temple Guardian saw him coming and swatted Shelton away with its free arm, subsequently bringing up its bludgeon. Sonic strafed to avoid the hard slam and dashed to the other side of the room as Shelton landed beside him. “I didn’t blink, but I didn’t see results either.” Sonic stated, one fist on his hip.   
  
“Yeah, yeah... I ain’t had to use Whirl Dash in a while.” Shelton rose onto one knee, watching as the guardian turned around, its glowing eyes locking on them.   
  
The conversation was cut short as the Temple Guardian slammed the bludgeon onto the ground, releasing a greenish shockwave. “Here it comes!” Sonic cried, dodging to one side. Gritting his teeth, Shelton jumped in the opposite direction. The Temple Guardian flipped its weapon so that the claymore side was in the air, and the spokes on it emitted green electricity that homed in on Shelton and Sonic.   
  
“I don’t remember temple guardians putting up this much of a fight in the movies!” Sonic yelled as he outran the lightning bolts coming his way.  
  
The Temple Guardian stopped to gather energy in the claymore and swung, releasing a wave of energy. Sonic and Shelton jumped at the same time and managed to avoid the attack, but the guardian flipped its weapon and swung in order to release a wave of green energy.  
  
Sucking in air to brace themselves, the two were blasted into the wall with such great force that small craters formed when they hit it. The Temple Guardian aimed its weapon and released a surge of green bolts. Heads jerking up, Sonic and Shelton strained cries, their bodies convulsing on the spot. Keeping this up for a bit longer, the monster eventually, and the both of them fell to the ground.   
  
Sonic forced himself to stand, ignoring any lingering pain in his body. A frown firmly placed itself on his face. “Looks like we’ll have to get serious.” He looked at Shelton from the corner of his eyes and saw that he was still lying on the ground, parts of his body shaking as residual static crackled on them. “Hey! Shelton! You still with me?”  
  
“Y-Yeah…” Shelton screwed one eye shut as he tried to reclaim control of his body.  _“God, this hurts like hell! Don’t fall apart on me now!”_  Taking several deep breaths, the brunette forced himself back to his feet. “C’mon. We got a job to finish.”  
  
In a single second, Shelton and Sonic dashed forth so fast that they broke the sound barrier, becoming red and white projectiles as volatile black and blue winds surrounded them. The Temple Guardian literally did not know what hit him; one second it was standing up, the next its legs were taken from underneath it. By the time it gathered that it was attacked by them, the monster’s face met the floor hard.   
  
Sonic stopped his Sonic Boost and skidded across the floor, wiping sweat off his brow. “That should knock it down a peg or two.”   
  
The two ran toward the staggered Temple Guardian and then did a short hop to get themselves ready to use Homing Attack and Drill Spear. However, the giant creature sensed danger and swiftly turned around as it swung its weapon, knocking Sonic and Shelton back into the wall while they were in the middle of attacking.   
  
They slid down the wall and landed on the floor, groaning and holding their heads. They immediately snapped out of it when they heard approaching footsteps. The Temple Guardian swung his bludgeon, this time releasing blasts of energy toward Sonic and Shelton, who quickly dodged them. Sonic reacted faster and took this chance to try and nail the golem in the face with another Homing Attack; however, it again knocked the blue hedgehog out of the way and to the ground.  
  
“You’re gettin’ on my nerves!” Shelton yelled as he dashed for the Temple Guardian, who waited for him. When the human got into its weapon’s radius, it swung the blade for Shelton, but he quickly jumped over it. This allowed Shelton to grab a hold of the handle when it came around. With a grunt of effort, Shelton launched himself to the face of the Temple Guardian.  He then delivered a series of rapid punches, ending his assault with an axe kick that made the monster stagger backwards.  
  
“One more!” Sonic exclaimed, speeding past Shelton as a supersonic ball and ramming himself into the torso of the dazed golem. Finally, the mighty Temple Guardian fell down, landing on its back with a thud.   
  
“Check it out! I got him to fall!” Sonic declared proudly, skidding back to a stop.   
  
“Man, you better focus!” Shelton chastised, shooting him a disapproving look. “Let’s gloat  _after_  we’re done!”  
  
A slight rumble in the area signaled the Temple Guardian was back on its feet. Sonic frowned, tapping the ground with his foot. For something as simple as a guardian, this thing was tougher than he expected. “I guess you got a point.”   
  
Shooting forward, Sonic and Shelton ran side-by-side as they approached the Temple Guardian. The golem swung its blade down at them, but they separated to evade the attack. Shelton performed the Whirl Dash and struck the Temple Guardian’s burly hand, forcing it to let go of its weapon. Sonic used his Spin Dash and hit the monster on the side of the head, rebounding toward the nearest wall and bouncing off of it to get into the air.  
  
“You’re finished!” Sonic increased the speed of his spinning. Violent, buzzing sounds were made as he charged up speed in air. He was moving so fast that gravitational forces acted oddly; he wasn’t even falling to the floor. In the midst of his charging, the light particles in the room flowed to him like a magnet.    
  
The Temple Guardian whipped around to the source of the noise, seeing Sonic, and scooped up its weapon. Noticing its attention was completely on the defenseless Sonic, Shelton ran up to him, going fast enough to scale right up the entity’s body. “Where you lookin’?!” He shouted as he jumped into the air, loud enough to get its focus. The young man then drove himself into the Temple Guardian’s face as a high-speed drill. “ _Drill Punisher_!”  
  
With the Temple Guardian now occupied, Sonic was able to complete the charge time of his attack. “Ready...  _Go_!” The hedgehog shot at the guardian like a bullet, an azure aura about him. The initial hit bore right through its monster, making the monster roar in pain. Shelton landed on the ground and backed away to let Sonic finish the job. He watched as Sonic assailed the monster at such speeds he could only see a glowing trail.   
  
With each hit, Sonic continued to tear holes into the Temple Guardian, who thrashed desperately in an attempt to strike the hedgehog, to end the suffering. Greenish energy leaked out of its wounds around the time its movements became slower and voice grew weaker. Sonic ended his Light Speed Attack assault by driving himself through the head of the guardian, shattering it into bits of rock and rubble. Creaking, the Temple Guardian collapsed on its back, and the energy consumed its entire body.   
  
The walls of the room glowed the same green color, and the energy returned to whence it came.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Under their Noses**  
  
“Alright, so how do we go about sealing this thing?” Sonic inquired, leaning against the base of the temple’s core.   
  
“Simple. I’ll handle that.” Shelton said, reaching behind him and, to Sonic’s surprise, removing the silver Chaos Emerald from his person.   
  
“Whoa! You got a Chaos Emerald!” Sonic exclaimed, eyeing the mythical gem.   
  
“That’s what it’s called? I found da thing lyin’ around somewhere. It wasn't near anymore important,” Shelton explained, “I just decided to pick it up; it helped in sealin’ the other temple.”   
  
"How do you seal it, and how did you figure out?" Sonic asked curiously as he eyed around the Core Room. Based on his various interactions with Shelton since escaping Ryu and Negative, the blue hedgehog could conjecture Shelton was not a person who could look at something as complex as this core and know what to do right off the bat.    
  
"Trial 'n' error, my man!" Shelton announced proudly, holding a thumbs-up with a large grin on his face. Sonic only shrugged his shoulders. He guessed that was all a normal person like himself or Shelton could do in a place like this without prior knowledge. He imagined Shelton running around in circles, climbing up walls, and removing various slabs out of the way in comical attempts at figuring out what to do. The fifteen-year-old hedgehog laughed quietly at the thought.  
  
"As for your other question…" Shelton outstretched the hand that held the emerald. “Like so.”  
  
The silver Chaos Emerald levitated out of Shelton’s hand and positioned itself above the core of the Ancient Temple. The mythical gem illuminated brightly, and the core reacted to it. The writings attached to the core magically removed themselves from the statue and swirled around the green core. The power of the Chaos Emerald made the core sink into the ground as the outer dials rotated to certain spots, the writings on them glowing the color of the emerald: silver and white.    
  
Pretty soon, the reaction ceased as the Chaos Emerald floated back to Shelton’s hand. “And that’s all she wrote,” he announced, pocketing the emerald again.   
  
With the temple on the verge of returning back to its resting place in the earth, it had to reward the two proud and brave heroes for their troubles. In the back of the core room, a door of pure light materialized and opened up, pouring the radiance of the outside world in the room. “That must be our ticket out of here,” Sonic stated, walking to the opened door.   
  
“Yep. Let’s bounce.” Shelton followed the blue hedgehog into the magical door.  
  
The door returned the two to the land right in front of the Greco-Roman temple. Once they were safely outside, a tremor shook the area. “Wh-Whoa! The heck’s going on?!” Sonic shouted, placing a hand on the ground to add to his balance.  
  
“Watch and be amazed!” Shelton instructed, doing the same action while pointing at the temple. In addition to the earthquake, a volatile tremor added to the upheaval as the temple began its steady descent into the ground. Dust and sediment flared into the air as the earthen area was stretched to accommodate the temple going back to its resting place. The pillars on the temple shook in conjunction with the ground, rattling the temple itself. Soon enough, the whole structure disappeared into the ground as the calamity ceased with nothing left in its wake.   
  
“Whoa. That was pretty cool,” Sonic remarked.   
  
“Yeah, it disappears after sealing…I just…dunno what all this means,” Shelton muttered contemplatively.   
  
“I know just the little guy who could possibly solve our troubles.” Sonic declared.   
  
Shelton looked at the fifteen-year-old hedgehog curiously, “Who?”   
  
Sonic swiped under his noise as he announced proudly, “My good buddy Tails! He’s your guy if you wanna know this kind of stuff.” His emerald eyes turned and gazed at the blue and white sky, “…Hm. Looks like we have enough time to run over there if we go at high speeds.”  
  
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” Shelton said.   
  
Sonic looked at the taller male incredulously, “I thought you loved running?”   
  
Shelton rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, “It’s not that! It’s just I don’t wanna leave my homies behind. They got business in this stuff, too!”   
  
“Oh!” Sonic exclaimed in understanding, “Why didn’t you just say so? Where are they?”  
  
On cue, the sounds of a plane whooshing toward them pierced through the quiet environment. “Here one of ‘em comes!” Shelton announced, turning to the source of the sound along with Sonic. They could see a fighter jet plane shaped like a pterodactyl. Its colorations consisted of light slate grey and dark red.   
  
“Hey, Shelly! Ya took care 'a' business?” A voice rang over somewhere on Shelton’s person. He pulled back some of the brown hair over his ear to reveal a communicator and replied, “You know it, Inv! You right on schedule, too! My boy and I need a ride!”   
  
“Lemme park this thing, then!” The plane eventually came to a stop right above the two speedsters and slowly made its descent toward them.   
  
All the while, Sonic marveled the design of the plane. “Whoa. And I thought Tails’ plane was big,” he commented.   
  
The front capsule where the cockpit was opened up and, to Sonic’s surprise, a robot came out, supposedly being this Inv person Shelton had mentioned. Inv's mechanical body was predominantly of dark red and light slate grey colors. His feet were angled tracks covered by dark red armor in the shape of right triangles. His black, metal legs were quite skinny, covered by dark red leg armor with pointy knee caps outlined in white. A silver rim acted as Inv's waist, and more dark red armor pantomimed the pelvis, which the legs were connected to.   
  
Inv's torso was considerably bulkier than his arms and legs and chiseled to resemble the human torso, but there was a small hump in the back. It resembled the front of a typical tractor unit truck—the "headlights" positioned where pectoral muscles would have been, and the insulator unit placed right where his abs would have been. His abs were a dim grey, and the headlights were glassy and outlined by a dim grey metal.  Black, blocky shoulder blades protected the ball sockets that connected his arms to the torso. His arms were designed similarly to his legs: skinny with dark red, bell-sleeve-like armor. Inv's left hand was a large metallic gauntlet while his right hand was a curved, scissor-like claw connected to a single hinge. Inv's head was box-shaped, his set of jaws light slate grey while the rest of his head was dark red. His eyes, resembling oval-framed lenses, were colored purple-raspberry.   
  
“Hey, Inv, meet Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog,” Shelton introduced the fifteen-year-old speedster to the robotic character.   
  
“Hey! Yer that blue hedgehog that keeps on savin' th' world. I know you!” Inv exclaimed, making a smirk plaster onto Sonic’s face.   
  
“Well, I don’t mean to brag but, yeah, that’s me!” A thing Sonic noticed about Inv quickly was that he sounded nothing like robots he had met before. He talked like a human! Plus, he moved like a human too. Whoever created Inv had to be highly advanced.  
  
“Ha. So ya’ll need a ride, don’tcha? Hop on, then!” Inv said.  
  
“Yo, Sonic, you might wanna give Inv directions to yo boy,” Shelton recommended as he jumped onto one of the wings of the plane and then into one of the passenger seats.   
  
“Hey, Inv!” Sonic yelled to the robotic character as he did the same thing, “Your destination is a placed called Tails’ Workshop. It’s located in the Mystic Ruins some miles outside Central City. I’ll direct you if you have problems!”   
  
As Inv started up the pterodactyl-shaped plane again for flight, he replied to Sonic, “If ya say so! Just sit tight an' I’ll get ya there in a jiffy! My Z-Ptera ain’t failed me yet!”  
  
“Hopefully you can get this jalopy there fast!” Sonic shouted, preparing for flight as the Z-Ptera hovered in the air.   
  
“JALOPY?!” Inv exclaimed.   
  
“Oh, God,” Shelton groaned under his breath.   
  
“You better hold on to ya britches, hedgehog! This vehicle comes only in two functions: fast and ‘WHOO! Th' hell was that!?’”   
  
And judging by the sudden acceleration, Inv opted for the second function.   
  


* * *

  
The Imperial Skyline finally exited the warp-hole, and its owners weren’t all that impressed with the outcome of a previous endeavor.   
  
“Damn that Shelton and that blue hedgehog!” Negative shouted irefully as he slammed his fists onto the large keyboard, “They had to get in the way!” Ryu, meanwhile, only sat in his chair nonchalantly, letting his companion vent out his frustrations.   
  
Suddenly, the alarms went off in the room, putting a stop to their actions—or in Ryu’s case, a lack thereof. “What now?” Negative growled as he typed on the keyboard and something appeared on the view screen: a salvo of missiles heading their way. “WHAT THE—?” The Imperial Skyline shook tumultuously as some of the missiles impacted against it.   
  
“Who is responsible?” Ryu questioned, maintain his universal calm.   
  
“I’m trying to figure that out!” Negative yelled in response, “I need to put the battleship into assault mode for counterattacks!”  
  
As Negative did that, Ryu went to the other, smaller keyboard and punched in some commands. On its screen, it displayed a cloudy, crimson sky above a large hellishly red establishment. From it, the sky-patrol sentries were unleashing waves of missiles and laser fire unto the Imperial Skyline. But the thing that gave this place away the most was the sign located at the “entrance”: Eggmanland. Ryu balked, “Th-This is…”  
  
“CEASE YOUR FIRE! STOP NOW! STOP, YOU PIECES OF JUNK!”  
  
The outraged voice echoed through the sky and ground as the Eggmanland sentinels suddenly stopped attacking. “Damn it, just when I was about to fight back!” Negative growled as he slammed his fist onto the keyboard again.   
  
Ryu walked over to the human-bat hybrid and questioned, “Negative, have you no idea where we are?”   
  
Negative looked at him and replied, “No. Why?”  
  
“Incoming message,” the computer voice announced to the two.   
  
“Open it,” Ryu demanded.   
  
Upon the voice command, the computer automatically opened the message and played it. On-screen, a portly man dressed in red and black appeared on the screen, “Ho ho ho! Well, long time no see, Ryu and Negative!”  
  
“Doctor Robotnik?!” Negative shouted in shock. His long-time acquaintance was the one responsible for nearly devastating his battleship? How ironic.  
  
“Likewise. How long has it been since we last seen each other?” Ryu asked in a friendly manner, adding an uncharacteristic smile.   
  
“Negative, nobody calls me that anymore…” Eggman said lamentably and then bluntly addressed Ryu, “And, I lost count of the months since our last meeting.”   
  
Ryu’s smile quickly turned into a frown as he stated sternly, “Then what do they call you nowadays, Robotnik? Forgive us for our ignorance.”  
  
“I am now known as Doctor Eggman, the illustrious and super genius and soon-to-be emperor of Eggmanland!” The evil doctor megalomaniacally declared.   
  
Negative was instantly put into a fit of uncontrolled laughter, “What the hell, Robotnik? What kind of stupidity is a name like ‘Eggman?!’”   
  
“Quit you’re laughing, you rat with wings!” Eggman shouted outrageously, “What is so funny about that?!”  
  
“It sounds retarded!” Negative responded through his laughter, brutal and honest, eliciting a vicious growl from Eggman.   
  
“Negative, enough.” Ryu suddenly spoke, stern and menacing as ever, and Negative died down in his hysterics. The swordsman casted a prolonged, intent look to the evil genius on-screen and drawled, “Let us in. We’ll talk about things when we’re face-to-face.”  
  
“Why, certainly! Just park your battleship at the hangar a mile northwest of the entrance, and I’ll meet you there!” Eggman directed, and the transmission was broken.   
  
“Negative. Do it,” Ryu ordered.  
  
“Don’t rush me,” Negative retorted, shooting a glare at him.  
  


* * *

  
  
The Imperial Skyline descended to a halt within the confines of Eggmanland. Underneath it, Ryu and Negative dropped from the teleportation beam and landed on the hard steel floor of a bunker within the fortress.  
  
Within the bunker were a vast multitude of robots and machines, ranging from roboticized animals to soldiers that resembled their creator himself. They were all working to prep the area for the arrival of Ryu and Negative…even though they already did.   
  
“I see Robotnik has quite the array of machinery,” Negative said, eyeing at the various automatons.   
  
Just then, a red ball rolled up to them before revealing itself to be small, round-headed robot with slit light blue eyes and mouth. “Ah. I wasn’t aware that Eggman was acquainted with people such as yourselves.”  
  
“…” Negative and Ryu stared unblinkingly at the eccentric contraption.   
  
“My name is SA-55, or Cubot, as I prefer to be called. I am one of Eggman’s Badniks, as he calls them,” Cubot said as he clasped his hands together. While he sounded like a prim and proper gentlemen, his way of speaking was excessively lax and, in their eyes, disrespectful.   
  
“Why you miserable little ants!” An irate voice suddenly shouted. The majority of the Badniks frantically jumped in fear, for they knew the area in question was not status quo. Too bad they could not increase their progress because Doctor Julian Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik entered the bunker with a dissatisfied scowl on his face. “Oh great, they’re here, and this place is atrocious! I am severely disappointed in you hunks of metal!” The Badniks cowered in fear because their master would potentially revert them to scrap metal in the chop shop located elsewhere in the fortress.   
  
“But, Eggman,” Cubot said, turning around to his approaching creator, “You expected us to clean a place big enough to accommodate a battleship in less than five minutes. They are not that efficient. Not to mention, if these two were your friends, I’m sure they wouldn’t care.”  
  
“Did I ask you?!?” Eggman bellowed. Negative snickered mercilessly, finding it humorous that the creation was giving constructive criticism to the creator. Ryu, however, saw the other side of the spectrum—one that pleased him when he saw how much his old friend has regressed.   
  
“Well, I—” Cubot spoke but was silenced when he was violently kicked into a wall, “Ow.” The red and black robot groaned monotonously as he slowly slid into a trashcan.   
  
Ryu dropped his leg to the ground and faced the many shocked Badniks in the room. “All right. It seems your creator is displeased at the progress. I am telling you know to increase your pace twentyfold or else you will face punishment by my blade.” To emphasize his demands, he unsheathed his nodaichi. The sharp, glistening blade contrasted comparatively well with the dark atmosphere of the bunker. The Badniks only stared thoughtlessly, wordlessly, and motionlessly, for Eggman never imposed such authority on them previously, so they were unaccustomed to someone else doing just that.   
  
“…Hmph. Allow me to give a demonstration of my wrath.” Ryu said, swinging his nodaichi. It release two air waves of energy that ripped through several Egg Pawns and Egg Fighters, causing explosions that rocked the area and struck fear into the processing units of Eggman’s robots. “Get to work unless you want to share the same fate as your misfortunate brethren,” Ryu stated, still in his universally calm voice as he sheathed his sword. This time, the Badniks—fueled by fear—zipped off in different directions to do their given tasks.   
  
“Ivo,  _that_ ,” Ryu said as he turned to the portly scientist, “is how you command subservient creatures; with an iron fist and every intention to carry out threats.”   
  
Eggman only stared at the swordsman, with bewilderment, indifference, or amazement was anyone’s guess, because he donned an expressionless face.   
  
“Now, because I respect you, Robotnik, I will never refer to you as ‘Eggman’ because it is such a ridiculous name,” Ryu stated sternly, “How it came about is beyond me.”  
  
“You can blame Sonic and his furry friends. I suppose the name just stuck since no one called me by my old name anymore,” Eggman explained.   
  
“Then think of this as a fresh new start, Ivo,” Ryu offered, “It seems Sonic no longer fears you. Well, we shall use that laxness to bring about an untimely wave of destruction that will happen so quickly and unexpectedly it will give the rat a heart attack.”  
  
Now that Eggman thought about it, Sonic and his friends seemed to think lesser and lesser of his so-called, all-powerful plans and, ultimately, himself. The failures were so constant that they were almost routine, like Sonic going on jogs around Central City. Well, enough was enough.   
  
“I must commend you,” Eggman finally spoke, “You’re exactly as I remember you,”  
  
“And I will admit your engineering skills have improved, Robotnik,” Negative took the opportunity to say something since Ryu and Robotnik had been doing all the talking.   
  
Eggman smirked boastfully, “But of course! I am Doctor Egg-uh, I mean, Doctor Julian Ivo Robotnik, the world’s greatest scientist! I have a reputation to maintain if I want this glorious Eggmanland—gah! Robotnik Empire—to expand to all corners of the Earth.”  
  
“It’s a start,” Ryu admitted unpleasantly.  
  
“Come on, Robotnik, we have much to discuss,” Negative brought forth, “Let us go to your quarters.”  
  
Eggman led everyone back to his station, the main control room of Eggmanland, or rather, the Robotnik Empire. It was located in the heart of the entire area, situated at the topmost section of the highest tower. The room was relatively wide with nothing but white coloring the entire place. It was bright, but the whiteness of the quarter helped with such. The sole window in front of them stretched from wall-to-wall and was tinted blue because it doubled as a transparent computer screen.   
  
Negative decided to situate himself in one of the white seats while Ryu approached the interactive screen. “Robotnik. Are you familiar with the legend of Rhlor?” Ryu inquired the scientist as he typed onto the keyboard.   
  
“I have to say I am not. This is the first time I’ve heard about…Rhlor?” Eggman replied, sitting in his seat as well. He didn't quite catch the name Ryu just mentioned.  
  
“You pronounced it wrong,” Negative pointed out, sinking into his seat, “It’s pronounced ri-lawr.”   
  
“Anyway, Rhlor is a legendary, ancient, godlike entity that was worshipped by some clans about twenty millennium ago,” Ryu explained, the screen displaying ancient depictions and tables on the subject of the apparent god.   
  
“But the thing that gave Rhlor his fame is the fact that he was nicknamed the God of Wishes,” Negative added in, crossing his arms. “A simple prayer to him fulfills the heart’s innermost desires.”  
  
“Sounds like my kind of god,” Eggman remarked in an interested tone.   
  
“However, you will notice the problem when you think about it,” Ryu spoke again, changing the images on the screen to that of what appeared to be ancient illustrations of a calamitous battle with the symbol for Rhlor among the turmoil, “Many of the prayers Rhlor received contradicted each other, and the clans worshipping it became avaricious.”   
  
“So they killed each other.” Eggman stated matter-of-factly.   
  
“You guessed it.” Negative confirmed, “However, some sympathized with Rhlor for the abuse it suffered because of the greedy clansmen. These certain people wished for the God of Wishes to be sealed away. So, now, Rhlor is an almost nonexistent word in our current vocabulary.”  
  
“So, what’s the point?” Eggman demanded impatiently.   
  
“Patience, my friend,” Ryu stated as more images appeared, ones of differently-structured temples, “The method in which Rhlor was sealed away is almost like a game in our modern time. These ancient structures, called Sacred Temples, or Ancient Temples depending on context, are the locks that bind Rhlor to its sealed state. At first, however, only three Sacred Temples are set to stay in the known world, and they appear in a period of every 1,000 years until this is stopped. In addition, the remaining Sacred Temples only crop up when conflicting factions are involved in this rather interesting game. One ‘team,’ if you will, is the sealers, whose objective is to return the temples back into the ground. The objective of the opposing ‘team,’ the activators, is, obviously, activation of the Sacred Temples’ inner power to release Rhlor.”  
  
“So far, we’ve only activated one Sacred Temple,” Negative said, “But we purposefully refrained from sealing any more, even though I hate losing period, or the idea of losing itself, to allow a certain someone to get the chance to seal some first.”  
  
“Let me guess who that is,” Eggman interrupted, “Is it that blowhard Shelton Shallow?” Negative nodded sourly, causing the doctor to sneer in disgust.   
  
“But Shelton isn’t aware that he has worked in accordance to our plan,” Ryu said optimistically, “When he first became privy to our actions, we assumed a sort of ploy to make sure we would get to the point we are now.”   
  
“Even though I hate letting that cockroach best me,” Negative grumbled irefully, “And Sonic only makes it worse!”  
  
Eggman slammed a clenched fist onto the armrest of his chair, “Uch! I should’ve known that blasted pincushion would get involved…”  
  
“Rhlor is an all-knowing God of Wishes; he knows what alignment a sealer of a temple is affiliated with. With Shelton and Sonic sealing two of the three Sacred Temples, and Negative and me activating the one Temple needed to start it off, the ancient game involving these temples is underway. The remaining Sacred Temples have risen in other parts of the land. Now, it is up to us three to activate more Sacred Temples than Shelton and his gang will seal in order to win.”  
  
“Knowing him, Sonic’s lapdogs will be informed about this in no time…” Eggman muttered speculatively.   
  
“Too bad the information Shelton has isn’t enough,” Ryu said, calming the nerves of the human doctor somewhat.   
  
“This game works in accordance to the wills of the greedy clansmen that battled for exclusivity to Rhlor and the sympathetic people that wanted Rhlor’s safety,” Negative explicated, “If we win, Rhlor will be reawakened and we can pray upon him for whatever plots we want fulfilled. He'll grant them provided our three wishes don't inherently contradict each other and create conflict. But, if Shelton, Sonic, and the others win, Rhlor will stay sealed for another 1,000 years. This is our only chance.”   
  
“Hold up a minute,” Eggman interrupted, “I believe you mentioned that The Sacred Temples are the  _locks_? What on Earth are the  _keys_  to these locks?”  
  
Ryu smirked as more images popped up, “The Chaos Emeralds. These mystical gems have been around since the days of the Knuckles Clan. Naturally, other ancient societies wanted to have these things involved in their culture somehow. When exposed to the Cores of the Sacred Temples, depending on the desire of the person, the temples themselves will be sealed away or unlocked.”  
  
“Ho ho ho! I like that prospect!” Eggman cheered excitedly, “I happen to be in possession of two Chaos Emeralds!”   
  
Negative smirked as he announced, “Excellent. So are we. That will make things easier.”   
  
Eggman rose enthusiastically from his seat, “What are we waiting for? I’ll go start pinpointing the locations of the Sacred Temples. Let’s hurry up and win this game!”  
  
“Hold on, Ivo.” Ryu stopped the doctor from leaving.   
  
“What is it?” Eggman asked, turning back to him.   
  
“There is one last thing about the Sacred Temples that is very important,” Ryu said seriously, “Will is an important facet concerning these temples, inside and out.”  
  
“Will?” Eggman echoed the word confusedly, scratching his bald head.   
  
Negative responded, “This concept of “will” is key to our victory, especially if our little speedsters decided to impede. Let them meander lackadaisically inside a Sacred Temple with their minds thinking what they want. They will soon regret when the Temple decides to enact upon what they are thinking.”   
  
“Ha!” Eggman laughed mockingly, “With my and your mechanical know-how, yours and Ryu’s swordsmanship, and my and Ryu’s strategic ability, we will win this game quicker than Sonic and Shelton can run!”  
  
With that said, Negative and Eggman shared smirks and chuckled sinisterly. Ryu maintained his ever-serious demeanor as one thought crossed his mind.  
  
 _Let the games begin._


	4. Protect the City (Part 1)

**Chapter 4: Protect the City (Part 1)**  
  
“We’re almost there, Inv! If you see a little blue and yellow house, that’s Tails’ place!”  
  
“Then that must be what I see right now! Hang on; preparin’ for landin’!”  
  
The Z-Ptera was closing in on Mystic Ruins, flying straight above the train station and heading straight to a hill that housed what Sonic pointed out: Tails’ Lab. The red and grey plane decelerated until it reached an aerial standstill and slowly landed on the vacant lot before the workshop.  
  
Sonic eagerly jumped off the wing of the Z-Ptera and ran toward the door, “Yo, Tails! Stop tinkering and come out here!” Although his yell probably did the trick, Sonic approached the door and knocked on it multiples times for extra measure.   
  
Shelton, too, jumped off Inv’s airplane and said humorously to Inv, “I think ya should add a third function that says ‘Warning; this ride makes rollercoasters look like lil punk rides.’”   
  
Inv opened up the cockpit capsule and laughed, “Well, technology can only let ma plane ride so fast, Shelly.”  
  
Finally, the door to the workshop opened up, revealing the two-tailed mechanist himself. “Sonic, I heard you the first time when you yelled.” Tails rationalized.   
  
“Sorry, buddy, I just got off this awesome ride.” Sonic said apologetically, pointing over his shoulder at the Z-Ptera.   
  
The vulpine’s blue eyes shimmered in amazement as the sight of the high-tech avian vehicle Sonic pointed out. “Whoa…” He said with awe.  
  
“That reminds me, lemme introduce you to a couple of friends I just met.” Sonic said, walking over to them, “The guy on the right is Shelton Shallow, and the robot on the left is Inv Robonox.”  
  
“Yo.” Shelton greeted with a thumbs-up as Inv waved.  
  
“Hello, you two!” Tails said, jogging over to them, and introduced himself, “My name is Tails, though Sonic probably already told you that. Welcome to my workshop and to Mystic Ruins!”   
  
“Honored,” Inv replied, shutting off his plane.   
  
“Same here,” Shelton added in.  
  
"Which one of you owns that?" Tail asked interestedly, examining the paintjob and structure of the vehicle.  
  
"All mine, partner," Inv declared proudly, "I call it th' Z-Ptera. That's short fer Z-Pterodactyl. Hotrod, ain't it?"  
  
"Yes, it's very impressive!" Tail replied, turning to the robot, "Can I ask how you managed to get your wingspan that large but so comfortably?"  
  
"Hey, hey,  _hey_!" Sonic interjected, preventing an almost inevitable conversation between two technological enthusiasts,  “Tails, we got quite a dilemma on our hands. So, let’s head inside your workshop if you don’t mind.”   
  
Tails' head tilted to the side in confusion, “What’s going on?”  
  
Sonic reached the front door of Tails' Workshop as he responded, “Didn’t I just say we were gonna discuss in here?”  
  
Inside, Shelton, Sonic, Inv, and Tails situated themselves with the first three giving the latter all of the information they gathered up until now. Shelton and Inv especially made Tails aware of the threat Ryu and Negative posed since they had been battling them longer.   
  
“So, Shelton,” Tails did his best to summarize the key points, “What you are saying is that you’ve sealed two of these temples already? And they have to be sealed using a Chaos Emerald?”   
  
“That’s what I said, man. You got it.” Shelton confirmed, leaning back in his seat, “But, hate to say this, that’s all we got. Nothin’ more, nothin’ less.”   
  
“Well, there has to be some way to locate these temples.” Tails stated optimistically.   
  
“I agree,” Sonic concurred, “I mean, Ryu and Negative are doing it!”   
  
“That’s cuz they know more than us.” Inv pointed out critically.   
  
Shelton ran a hand through his hair nervously as he said, “As much as I hate to say it, Lady Luck’s been on my side up ‘til now…”  
  
“I have to agree,” Inv said, “Me and our other compadre ain’t been so lucky like Shelton here has.”  
  
“Who would that be?” Sonic asked curiously.  
  
“Oh, yeah,” Shelton said, remembering something important, “Me and Inv got another homie in this. So, if you find someone by the name of Scizzor Shidoro, he’s helpin’ find any temples that resemble the one we were just at.”  
  
“Well, if that’s the case,” Tails went off the computer stationed on the other side of the room, “I guess we can start our data-collecting by looking up the different types of temples constructed throughout time. There can’t be that many, right?”   
  
“It’s worth a shot,” Sonic said conclusively, “Besides, like you said, Tails, it’s a start. The next best thing would be finding out how many of those suckers are out there.”   
  
“One thing at a time, Sonic,” Inv advised.   
  
“Man, we in some kind of mess this time…” Shelton lamented, “We’re nit-pickin’ to find some info on these temples and, at the same time, we can’t afford to slow down cuz then Ryu and Negative will have more time than us to find these things.”  
  
“I’m not gonna mince words,” Sonic admitted, “These two are nothing compared to a certain egghead I know…”  
  


* * *

  
Not everyone was as alert as those four. The people of Central City, the capital city of the United Federation, were all going about their everyday matters, including shopping, eating, traveling, and other leisure and business activities. Everyone, from the relatively calm Westopolis area to the bustling Station Square district, was oblivious to the danger.  
  
Well, not for long.  
  
The bright and pleasing sun that many people welcomed as they traversed the streets and districts of Central City was suddenly obscured, particularly in Westopolis and Station Square. Murmurs, both of disappointment and ire, filled the streets as they looked up in unison to the skies to see what was going on.   
  
In the skies over Westopolis, the Imperial Skyline loomed menacingly. “Alright, Robotnik, are you in position?”   
  
Hovering above Station Square was a red and black, armored, streamlined aircraft known to many people as the Egg Carrier. “Ho ho ho! Ready when you are, Negative!”   
  
After that short exchange, a portion of the underside of the Egg Carrier slid open. Immediately afterwards, a large number of Badniks fell from it. The Egg Pawns landed hard on the ground, some forceful enough to cause a small crater with others even landing haphazardly on vehicles. It was thanks to their refurbished chasses that they did not instantly explode from contact from falling at such high altitudes. The Egg Gunners, halfway down, activated their hovering systems and patrolled the skies with their machine and laser guns ready to impose fierce judgment unto any resistance. Last but not least, two cargos that were also dropped, opened upon landing, and let loose roboticized animals to add to the siege in Station Square.   
  
The same thing happened with the Imperial Skyline, but a much different array of robots was released to wreak havoc in Westopolis. The machines, oddly, had a sort of organic appearance to them in comparison to the rigid and hinged robots under Eggman’s control. Their color was generally an inky black with streams of active, glowing purple energy coursing through certain parts of their bodies, pantomiming the nervous or skeletal systems. In terms of appearance, they were all animalistic, ranging from lions, to bulls, and to falcons all equipped with sharps claws, horns, or talons and laser and machine guns. “Show no mercy, my Nega Machines! Run wild!” Negative’s voice boomed from the loudspeaker from somewhere on the Imperial Skyline.   
  
The people immediately started running away, for their seemingly perfect day was ruined by the sudden appearance of these menacing monstrosities. In Station Square, the Badniks were handling their crowds despotically, making sure certain exits were blocked off and threatening to turn fleers into paste with their rifles. They also mercilessly destroyed modes of transportation in an attempt to instill despair into their hearts. They had gotten orders from Robotnik to do all of that, who in turn was following the instructive advice of Negative.   
  
In Westopolis, the Nega Machines did exactly as they were told—wreak havoc without mercy. Many bearlike machines overturned trucks and vehicles, the lions blocked off exits whilst snarling and pointing their weapons at the fleers, and the eagles unleashed torrents of laser-fire the grounds below, destroying vehicles, light posts, and even causing structural damage. The fires they brewed, and the mindless destruction they caused inflicted terror into many of the people.   
  
Negative, from the control room of the Imperial Skyline, laughed heartlessly as he watched his creations do their job.   
  
“That should teach them a lesson!” Eggman said via the communication system.   
  
“At least, it better,” Negative stated, “Let’s go, Robotnik, while these insects scatter and thrash about, we have other matters to attend to.”  
  
“Copy that. Robotnik, over and out.”   
  
However, the raid in both sections of Central City would not go unaddressed. Suddenly, large trucks and helicopters appeared in the areas under attack. Egg Gunners and Nega Machines responded by unleashing fusillades of gunfire, but their bullets bounced off the reinforced chases of the transport vehicle. Their doors flew open and waves of troops cascaded into the battlefield.   
  
“Hurry and regain control, men! Show these robots that G.U.N. means business!” That order came from the administrator and supervisor of the current campaign in Station Square. He was a golden-brown hedgehog whose hair was willowy and possessed a neat tuft swept to the right. He wore a grayish purple G.U.N. suit with three gold medallions pinned to the upper lapel and a G.U.N. insignia sewn right above below them, white gloves, grayish purple pants, and grayish purple shoes with crisscrossing white lines on them.  
  
“Sir, Administrator Virgo, sir!” The G.U.N. Soldiers shouted simultaneously and obediently. Aided by their specialized Beetle and Hunter series machines, the tide of the siege began to shift. Many of the Nega Machines and Badniks were instantly destroyed when G.U.N. entered the fray, explosions and enflamed debris flying across both districts. Streets were filled with the sounds of guns and lasers along with the flashes of their discharge.   
  
But their top priority was making sure the innocent citizens were evacuated to a safe area, something that G.U.N. Administrator Virgena "Virgo" Zen was doing swimmingly. “Keep it moving, folks, you’re just doing fine; don’t panic!” He was amid a crowd, directing them all with hand signals and vocal commands.   
  
However, Egg Gunners were hot on their trails, guns and lasers aimed at the escaping crowds. “Don’t make me laugh.” Virgo growled as he dashed toward the opposing machines. When they released their shots toward he approaching hedgehog, he held out one hand as he focused intently on the oncoming projectiles. He vividly imagined himself stopping the shots without actually having to touch any of them, and Virgo exerted effort into making the thought a reality. As a result, his orange eyes flashed, an aura of pink energy surrounded his being, and all of the lasers and bullets were stopped cold with a similar phenomenon engulfing them. Virgo calmly concentrated so that his mind could maintain the psychokinetic hold they had on the fusillades. With a slight grunt and a flick of the wrist, he willed his counterattack, redirecting everything toward the Egg Gunners and causing them to explode instantly.   
  
“Hmph. Pests.” Virgo berated as the G.U.N. medallion on his person started to beep.   
  
“Administrator Virgo.” A tough, gritty voice called out on the other line.   
  
The psychokinetic hedgehog pinched medallion with two fingers and responded, “Virgo here, Commander.”  
  
“Status report. What is going on out there?” The G.U.N. Commander demanded.  
  
“Not as bad as it initially seemed,” Virgo reported, “We’re steadily regaining control. Agent Shadow and I are working on evacuations as the troops, Beetles, and Hunters are working on extirpating the robots. It looks like these are Eggman’s goons we’re dealing with.”   
  
Virgo heard the Commander snarl before saying, “Damn him, orchestrating a sudden attack without reason…Make sure order is maintained as soon as possible. I’m going to check on Agent Omega and Agent Rouge in Westopolis.”  
  
“Yes, sir!” Virgo replied and then said with assurance, “No doubt we’ll take care of these menaces in no time especially when G.U.N.’s outside help comes in.”  
  


* * *

  
“So, is that all the kinds of temples you two could find?” Sonic questioned, occupying himself with a paddleball.   
  
“The most likely,” Tails answered, pulling up the list of temples he and Inv composed onto the large computer screen.   
  
“Accordin' to th' list,” Inv read aloud, “we have Greco-Roman temples, th' one Shelton and Sonic sealed; Cambodian temples, th' one Shelton sealed by himself; Buddhist temples, Christian temples, LDS temples, Hindu temples, Jain temples, Masonic temples, pagan temples, Sikh temples, and Zoroastrian temples.”  
  
“Quite a list ya’ll got here,” Shelton remarked, idly flipping a coin to occupy himself.   
  
“Like we said, Shelton,” Tails stated, turning to him and Sonic, “This is only speculative, and our first step. We are still severely lacking information that we desperately need.”   
  
“At least it’s something.” Sonic stated optimistically.   
  
Just then, beeping sounded off in the room, perplexing Tails and Sonic. “Yo, Shelly, that’s yer communicator.” Inv pointed out, saving the information he and Tails gathered on the computer.   
  
“Probably Scizzor, so let’s see what’s up.” Shelton said as he touched the communicator on his ear, “Talk to me, dawg.”  
  
“Shelton,” a rough, low voice said sternly over the communicator, “If you and Inv are anywhere near Central City, specifically either the Station Square or Westopolis districts, come posthaste.”  
  
Shelton could sense the distressed undertone in Scizzor’s voice despite how dry and baritone he sounded. One thing Sonic and Tails noticed was that, unlike Shelton and Inv, this person lacked any sort of accent. “Scizzor. What’s goin’ on over there?” Shelton asked.   
  
“While I was browsing around to get information, two large aircrafts appeared in the horizon and unleashed hordes of machines, one in each district,” Scizzor explained, “I could easily distinguish one of them being the Imperial Skyline; surely enough, the Nega Machines came from it. The other way was unfamiliar…”  
  
“Describe it,” Shelton commanded.   
  
“It was equal in size to the Imperial Skyline. Its color was primarily red and black. Its turbines and engine system were bluish, and it looked a streamlined battleship.” Scizzor answered.  
  
Tails’ and Sonic’s eyes widened as they looked to each other, “The Egg Carrier!”  
  
“Wha-Who’s there?!” Scizzor exclaimed, somewhat flustered to hear the unfamiliar voices.  
  
Shelton sweat-dropped as he rationalized to his partner on the other line, “Uh, long story, Scizzor. We’ll explain later. Right now, I’m jettin’ to get there!” He did not give Scizzor time to respond as he deactivated the communicator and jumped out of his seat.   
  
“Tails, Inv, you two stay here and see if you can get any more information,” Sonic commanded, kicking open the exit, “Shelton, let’s go!” With a nod from Shelton, both speedy heroes dashed out of Tails’ Workshop, hurrying to get to Central City to help purge it of the robots.  
  


* * *

  
“Blasted robots! Fall apart already!”  
  
A spiked fist jammed into the midsection of an Egg Pawn with enough force to break through the orange armor and rendered it to pieces, his muscles pumping enough power to do so. Another Egg Pawn and Egg Fighter that dare challenged him suffered the same fate, but more and more Badniks became increasingly ambitious as they continued their assault.   
  
And Knuckles was getting sick of it. A perfectly peaceful day ruined because of Eggman. He was sure to give him quite the knuckle sandwich the next time they were to meet. “Tch…Still coming, huh?” He said as he flexed his arms in preparation, “Come and get some then!”   
  
Several Crabmeat scurried toward Knuckles, accepting the challenge, with their huge red gleaming with sharpness. Knuckles was not at all intimidated as he batted them away mercilessly when they came close enough. Buzz Bombers swooped down to the red echidna, but Knuckles ducked underneath them whilst grabbing the thorax of one of them. He proceeded to use the hapless Buzz Bomber to bat away its buddies and others that came his way.   
  
“Who else wants more?” Knuckles dared. To his surprise, more flocked to the battle as opposed to the numbers decreasing. “Hmph.” He put his fists in a boxer style again and prepared for a more arduous fight.   
  
Suddenly, he heard a distinct type of noise in the midst of the battle. Something resembling…buzzing?  
  
This particular buzzing sound intensified. Knuckles reflexively covered his ears as the sound reached nigh-unbearable levels. The robots reacted negatively. They started to malfunction and short-circuit, given by how sparks were flying out of their bodies and how some parts of their bodies locked involuntarily in place. The robots were on the fritz due to the presence of the strong noise.   
  
“What the heck's going on?!” Knuckles exclaimed in surprise, watching everything go down. At this point, the sound was loud even with him shielding his ears. The buzzing, just as quickly as it started, stopped as a sort of purplish blur passed through a section of these immobilized robots, slicing through them as explosions replaced where they were.  
  
“My deepest apologies."  
  
Knuckles’ purple eyes looked to see his helper. There were two distinct things about this character that he noticed right off the bat: honeycomb-style markings on his sclera, and his set of crystal-white insectoid wings located on his back. The wings mainly resembled that of a butterfly's but seemed to be made of the same material as flies' wings. He wore a yellow, short-sleeved sports shirt; purple hakama fastened by a purple belt and possessing dual yellow stripes down the side; beige military combat boots; and a beige bandanna.  
  
“Thanks for the help, not that I needed it,” Knuckles indignantly responded. He then crossed his arms as he shot the strange being a dirty glare, "Now was the big deal? My ears are banging right now!"  
  
"I was manipulating sound with my wings." The man replied, his wings twitching slightly, "Though, I hadn't notice you until the last second, hence why I stopped so abruptly. My powers are rather impractical when allies are around." The guy’s purple eyes gazed at the red echidna before diverting to the opposition approaching him and Knuckles, “Regardless. I only wished I came sooner to help.”   
  
“Don’t we all?” Knuckles asked rhetorically as he held up his fists, “What’s your name, buddy?”  
  
“Scizzor,” Scizzor introduced himself, uncrossing his arms as his wings fluttered and lifted him off the ground, “Scizzor Shidoro.”  
  
“Nice to meet you, pal,” Knuckles replied, “The name’s Knuckles the Echidna. Now, let’s have some fun with these pieces of junk!”  
  
“Very well then.”   
  


* * *

  
“Chaos…Spear!”  
  
Egg Pawns and Egg Gunners perished as yellow bolts of energy ripped their mechanical bodies and caused them to explode violently.   
  
The crimson eyes of Shadow alertly checked his surroundings, searching for any more of the Badniks tainting Station Square. To his irritation, he spotted more from across the street. “Hmph. I’ll make this quick.” He muttered under his breath.  
  
Just then, an azure blur swept across the area, faster than Shadow had time to react, and sliced those Badniks in half, resulting in an explosive doom. “Yo, Shadow! Taking care of business, I see!” Sonic greeted his longtime rival after performing that deed.   
  
“Not you again.” Shadow groaned in disdain, shaking his head slightly.   
  
“Well, nice to see you, too.” Sonic replied sarcastically but then stated seriously, “But, I had no idea you were out here too. That’s the first time you’ve beaten me to the punch at anything.”  
  
Shadow narrowed his eyes at his blue counterpart but opted to address the current situation, “G.U.N. is always the first thing on the scene of a disaster. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten that I am a member of G.U.N. now.”  
  
“Truth be told, Shadow…I kinda did.” Sonic admitted in all earnest.   
  
Shadow only sighed in exasperation, but he soon spotted roboticized animals in the distance. “Never mind that now. We still have work to do.” Shadow said as he dashed off. His movement automatically activated his Air Shoes, the jets on the soles of them propelling him forward at a constant pace. To accommodate this, he moved as if he were simply skating along the ground. Sonic ran alongside him, using his traditional method of high-speed progression.   
  
Shadow and Sonic easily caught up to those Badniks and each used Spin Dash to sliced through and destroy them. They continued down the road, their heads looking about constantly to spot any other Badniks that needed to be dispatched.   
  
“Looks like they’re hiding now that we’re here!” Sonic declared cockily, but Shadow did not respond whatsoever.   
  
Just then, Shadow’s communicator started beeping. He held up his right cuff to his mouth and said, “Shadow here.”  
  
“Shadow,” Virgo spoke urgently, “Are you anywhere near the Train Station in Station Square?”  
  
“It won’t take me long to get there, Administrator,” Shadow replied, “Is there a problem?”  
  
“A big one,” Virgo said grimly, “Apparently, there’s this new kind of machine that entered the fray, but I’m too busy evacuating citizens to address the problem. Take my place and please hurry!”  
  
“Understood. I’m on my way.” Shadow said, dismissing communication with his superior.   
  
“Train Station, huh?” Sonic said, apparently having eavesdropped on the conversation before turning around and going the opposite direction, “See you there, Shadow!”   
  
“Get back here.” Shadow demanded as he turned around and skated in pursuit of the eager blue hedgehog. With their combined speed, Sonic and Shadow reached the Train Station of Station Square in no time. To their disappointment, all that was there were Egg Gunners and Egg Pawns, no different from the packs they were usually fighting.   
  
“Well, this is a letdown…” Sonic said, frowning and crossing his arms. But, when Shadow thought about it, Virgo would not distribute false information like that. There had to be something there, something lying in wait.   
  
Shadow’s suspicions were proven correct when something suddenly burst out of the shore near the Train Station. “Watch out, Sonic!” The black and red hedgehog shouted. When a reddish laser ray was fired their way, they used their speed to evade the slicing attack.  
  
“Mhmhmhm. We meet again, Sonic the Hedgehog. Enjoyed temporary relief?”  
  
Sonic gasped as he focused his attention on the attacker, “Negative!” Hovering above the shore was a large, shark-like Nega Machine. Its glowing, light purplish-pink eyes and teeth gleamed menacingly. Same-colored energy surged through two large pectoral fins that possessed four blades. It had a deep black body with dim, dark red lines located predominantly around its torso. Lastly, it possessed a long tail that seemed tattered with four, smaller trails that were tipped with purplish-pink.   
  
The head of the robot opened up to reveal Negative manning the cockpit. “Enjoying the demolition that befell Central City?” He taunted.  
  
“No!” Sonic retorted, pointing at the hybrid heatedly, “And I got a question for you, Negative. Why the heck are you with Eggman’s machines?”  
  
“Don’t you mean Robotnik’s machines?” Negative corrected but nonetheless answered, “And you mean you haven’t figured it out based on initial supposition? We’re working together!”   
  
“That’s the last thing we need…” Sonic groaned in disdain with a negative nod.   
  
“Well, Negative,” Shadow spoke authoritatively, “As a member of G.U.N., I demand you end this before I end it myself.”  
  
“I would like to see you try, you striped louse. Make my day!” Negative challenged as the cockpit was once again concealed, “Nega Leviathan, sink them!” The Nega Levitation released a sonorous, mechanical cry. The Egg Gunners and Egg Pawns turned to the hedgehogs, aiding their leader.   
  
“Alright, Shadow. You ready?” Sonic asked, getting ready to fight.   
  
“Hmph. Hope you can keep up with me.” Shadow replied.  
  
The battle started off with the Egg Pawns charging straight for Sonic and Shadow. However, they were much too sluggish for the speedy hedgehogs. Sonic jumped up and landed on several of their heads, causing to tumble over in confusion when he jumped off. Shadow used a Spin Dash to take out their legs and trip them up.   
  
“Keep your eyes on me.” Negative’s voice boomed from the speaker as the Nega Leviathan positioned its pectoral fins in an X-formation as the blades glowed purplish-pink. It threw them back to the sides whilst launching several blades of purplish-pink energy toward the duo of hedgehogs.  
  
Shadow saw it coming by a mile. He tapped into the arcane powers of Chaos Energy that his body had become naturally inclined toward from experimentation and exposure to Chaos Emeralds and quickly teleported to avoid being hit. Sonic, however, had just landed from jumping on an Egg Pawn’s head and was hit by the attack, “Ow!”  
  
“Dolt.” Shadow insulted under his breath as he skated for the airborne Nega Leviathan. Three Egg Gunners hovered in the way and aimed for the G.U.N. agent. “Don’t make me laugh.”  Shadow proceeded to dodged the gunfire and strike all three of consecutively with a Homing Attack. The end result was him getting close enough to the Nega Leviathan. Remembering where the cockpit’s shield was, he struck that particular spot, forcing it open. “I have you now—”  
  
“Guess again.” Negative snickered vindictively, watching the hedgehog condescendingly. Before Shadow could attack the exposed cockpit, the blades released beams of purplish-pink electrical energy.  
  
“Aagh!” Shadow exclaimed as he was blown away, hitting the concrete ground hard. Negative laughed as the shield protected the cockpit again.  
  
The Nega Leviathan then performed a sort of flip, landing into the waters of the shore again. “Coward! Show yourself!” Sonic shouted. Sounds of laser fire were heard, but Sonic reacted quick enough to avoid them. Flying in to aid the remaining Egg Gunners and Negative were Egg Robos.   
  
“…You know,” Sonic said, “Seeing just about all the kinds of robots Eggman’s used in the past makes me realize that he is narcissistic.”   
  
Shadow knocked the blue hedgehog against the head to jar his concentration, “Focus, you moron!” Sonic rubbed the side of his head while shooting a glare at the crimson and ebony hedgehog. Nonetheless, he too sprung into action. Shadow and Sonic avoided the laser shots by the Egg Robos, jumped up, and destroyed them by using Homing Attack and sending them rocketing into the ground.   
  
“Don’t forget that I’m here!” Suddenly, the huge tail of the Nega Leviathan shot out of the water with enough force that a small tidal wave flew toward the streets in front of the Train Station.   
  
“Oh, no. Not water!” Sonic exclaimed in distress. Disregarding the robots, Sonic curled into a blue ball, charged up speed, and dashed up the side of the nearest building, making an indent that marked his path whilst kicking up gravel.  
  
“Fool.” Shadow groused as he teleported instantly to avoid the crashing tidal wave. A few Badniks that were unable to get out of the way were drenched and instantly short-circuited to death.   
  
Sonic jumped off the side of the building and landed back on the drenched streets as Shadow reappeared. “Wrong move!” Negative shouted as Nega Leviathan flew out of the water and fired electrical beams toward the ground.   
  
“And your aim is terrible!” Sonic berated, noticing that the lasers missed their marks by a long shot.   
  
Sonic immediately regretted saying that when the purplish-pink electricity expanded through the water and gave him and Shadow quite the deadly shock. “ARGHHHH!” Both hedgehogs screamed in pain.   
  
“Go work on your insight some more!” Negative hollered, dismissing the electric beams as Sonic and Shadow fell to the ground, residual electricity crackling on their bodies.  
  
Negative laughed vindictively as the Nega Leviathan hovered closer to the streets, and hovering Egg Gunners stationed themselves in front of it. Sonic and Shadow struggled to recover from their daze. “What’s the matter? Giving up already?” Negative taunted as more energy charged in the blades of the Nega Leviathan. The Egg Gunners and Egg Robos in the area aimed their rifles at the two hedgehogs.   
  
Sonic titled his head up and glared at them, “You wish, buddy!” Using every fiber in his body, Sonic mustered enough strength and will to go on his feet and dash forth. Shadow, not wanting Sonic to outdo him, essentially did the same thing and skated right behind his blue counterpart. Sonic dodged the gunfire from the Egg Gunners and proceeded to use Homing Attack in succession on them. Shadow came up and performed Homing Attack on Sonic, whose ball form made him immune from the damage and actually gave him a boost in height.   
  
Shadow again used Homing Attack on the shield of the cockpit, exposing Negative. Sonic finished the assault by harshly using Homing Attack on the weaker layer of Negative’s cockpit. “Gah!” Negative shrieked as the shockwave from the attack jammed the controls, and the force made the Nega Leviathan go backwards.   
  
“Alright, finally some leeway.” Sonic said as he and Shadow landed on the ground. When Negative regained control of his machine, he made it go back into the water.   
  
“Just have to stay patient until he decides to come back,” Shadow advised as the Egg Robos and Egg Gunners targeted the two hedgehogs.   
  
“Watch carefully!” Negative roared as multiple blades of purplish-pink energy flew out of the water, into the air, and arced toward Sonic and Shadow.   
  
“And worry about him,” Sonic added to Shadow’s previous statement. A blue and a yellow blur surged across the arena, avoiding both the blades and the gunfire from the opposing robots. Once the blades were not a factor anymore, they proceeded to dash straight for the robots and used Homing Attacks on them. Some decided to hover high enough in the air to avoid them. However, Shadow teleported behind one of them and consecutively used Homing Attack to destroy some of them before teleporting safely onto the ground.  
  
“Rip apart!” Negative shouted as the Nega Leviathan hovered out of the water, fired streams of lasers again, and retreated back into the shore. Sonic and Shadow easily evaded the lasers, which sliced through the ground after missing their targets.   
  
“Now…drown! Drown, I say!” Negative roared as the Nega Leviathan went underwater, charged up energy, and released of a pulse said energy. This attack caused a larger tidal wave to begin rising with the Nega Leviathan stationed atop it.   
  
“Oh…man…” Sonic moaned, his fear of water starting to crop up. This certain attack was going to be hell to dodge. But then, he realized something. This particular tidal wave was large enough to take out the entire street and the Train Station if left unattended.   
  
Because his nerves were already on the frizz, when he felt someone touch his shoulder, he almost jumped out of his skin before looking to see what it was Shadow. “Shadow?” He asked, wondering what his intentions were.   
  
“Ever wondered how things looked when time was stopped?” Shadow asked, reaching behind him and taking out the green Chaos Emerald, one that Sonic commonly recognized seeing with Shadow since day one.   
  
“Not really…” Sonic warily answered. He was further confused when a smirk plastered on Shadow’s tan-orange mussel, “Well, prepare yourself anyway…” With a Chaos Emerald now in his hand, Shadow was able to use his affinity toward it for a more powerful purpose. "Chaos… Control!" Turning his thoughts into power using the Chaos Emerald's mysterious capabilities, a pulse of Chaos Energy surged across the area. Slowly, everything stunted. If a moving object was not completely frozen in time, its movements were painfully reduced in speed. Such included the tidal wave that the Nega Leviathan prompted.   
  
"Perfect, Shadow! Now we can take care of this guy!" Sonic exclaimed alacritously. Their task was to do something to make sure that tidal wave did not pass the shore, and they had an idea of what to do. Sonic dashed over to the Egg Gunners, who had aimed their weapons at a painfully lethargic pace as a result of Chaos Control's influence. However, since he was moving like normal, the Blue Blur used Homing Attack consecutively on them.   
  
Shadow followed the motions like previously and took a great leap to perform Homing Attack on Sonic, clash allowing him more height and positioning right where he wanted to be. Then, he proceeded to use a series of Homing Attacks on some of the robots. He and Sonic continued this pattern, keeping each other aloft as they approached the Nega Leviathan, who was still atop the tsunami. One last attack broke up the cockpit's shield, revealing Negative who was currently frozen in time. Sonic finished the assault by harshly using Homing Attack on the weaker layer of Negative’s cockpit.   
  
To continue piling up damage, Shadow activated his Air Shoes so that the jets would be exude air to grant him temporary hovering. Then, he gathered Chaos Energy into his hands. The usually yellow color suddenly became red due to the intense generation of greater power. "Chaos… LANCE!" Shadow threw his hands out to the side as his Air Shoes deactivated and let him fall. Red spears flew over to the exposed cockpit and struck, exploding on contact. Before so, Chaos Control stopped, and time resumed normally.   
  
Negative released roars of frustrations as the Chaos Lance impacted his cockpit, cracking the glass horribly and causing him to lose all control his Nega Machine. The Nega Leviathan was off track, falling and getting immersed beneath the tidal wave it conjured, burying it underwater in a cataclysmic explosion. The two hedgehogs avoided the same fate courtesy of Shadow teleporting himself and Sonic safely back to land.  
  
"YOU ACCURSED ANTS!" Negative shouted wrathfully as he managed to reach the surface and take flight with his large bat wings. "I'll stomp you yet!" With a powerful flap, the swordsman depart, disappearing over the skyline of Station Square. Despite the bitter taste of defeat, he calmed down as he reminded himself of something,  _"I did my part. Ivo, Ryu, hold up your end."_


End file.
